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Poetry and Short stories at its finest

A TALE OF TWO … EPISODE 3

‘One would think the P.A would be more available and accessible than oga chairman’, said momoh, to Tim. ‘Why would you say that Moh?’ ‘I have been trying to get oga’s signature on the document we’ll need to close B&B’s next month but to no avail. Between the P.A and oga chairman, I no know who come ghost pass.’ ‘Careful man, someone could hear you. But come to think of it, I really haven’t seen them both since chairman introduced her and that has been over a week now.’ ‘You see! Good thing is the B&B’s deal is due next month, which is two weeks away. I pray they put off their ghost mode long enough to get to them before then’ With that, they headed into a bank to carry out transactions for the office.An hour later, the duo rode back to the office in the company’s car.

‎A week after seeing her face and the evaporating trick of his confidence, he was slowly getting back what he could. This did not go unnoticed by his admirers back at the office but they only thought faintly of it. Dinner for Tim that evening was cucumber and beer. He wasn’t in any mood for food,he just wanted to put the dancing ladies on his stomach at ease for a while.

As he sat watching a match on TV, his mind soon drifted to the lady in all black he met the week before. Why did she come back? Why here? What does she want? Is it just a mere coincidence? He highly doubted that, but his thoughts drifted towards that direction anyway. He remembered one of the conversations they had in the past. With that, he drew a conclusion: that he was doomed with her working so close to him. Much so with the strain of their relationship, if there ever was one to begin with.

His stilettos confidence was replaced by kitten heels with just as much noise on a marble floor,only with shorter heels. He strolled into the office the next day with it, only to be met by his friend Momoh and Isabella discussing just about where they had met the week before on the aisle. As he made towards them, he decided to strike a conversation with her, nothing to ruffle her defensive suit up. ‘We’ve been busy outside the office but all that won’t be for long. I’ll get this to him and get it back to you’, she said, collecting the document from momoh. That was just what Tim could grab from their discussion as he joined them. ‘Good morning moh, Ms Isabella.’ ‘morning Tim, restful night?,replied Momoh. ‘yeah!’ Isabella continued like the document was more important. As a matter of fact, it was work and work was far more important to her. ‘Ms Isabella?’called out Tim and she barely murmured a response to Tim as she turned and walked away from the boys in the direction of her office. ‘Shuo! Tim what was that all about?’ asked Momoh. ‘I don’t know’ Tim answered back. He wasn’t lying when he said that.

“Was that really necessary bela?’ Her conscience reprimanded her. Now shut from the rest of the office and him,she was thankful of the privacy that comes with having an office that leads right to the chairman’s. By now nosy beautiful colleagues would be sticking out hands of pretend friendship if her office were elsewhere or vulture looking thirsty males would be trying to get at her. She already spotted the looks in the eyes of a few male colleagues she had passed a few times around the office. She didn’t have time for them but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t dispose of them easily with her ready-to-go bag of curve balls always at her disposal. She had time for him though, she was armed ready to a strand for him. ‘Easy now dear conscience! Don’t go soft on me, at least not on this one’ bela said out loud to an empty office and her conscience.’He wasn’t soft then,I promise I won’t be now’. She further added and that hushed her conscience whom was fighting to perform its consciencely duties to her.

The office line ringing nearby at her desk further sealed that episode shut. Grabbing the phone,she immediately recognized the voice of the chairman. She took some notes,read out some and with a ‘yes sir!’, the call came to an end.She immediately got down to carrying out some of the orders that were given from over the phone.‎Busy minutes later and a gentle tap on the door did nothing to get her attention. Whoever was at the other end of the door repeated the process once or twice and with no answer, put himself right in the office anyway. Tim watched her slender,long fingers busy away on the PC just for a second before her nose sniffed his presence. Raising her eyes to him, the two were transfixed for half a minute. In that state, she lost her composure and gained it back even faster. As she did, her face gave nothing away, other than a scowl that ran swiftly and sat on her face. Seemingly to say to him ‘I don’t want you here’, while on the contrary she did. Even though it was just for his toture and her pleasure.

Standing there for as long as that little time took, he realized he had not gotten back his disappeared confidence that took flight at the first sight of her. The scowl made his stomach knot up and a hard swallow of spit seemed his only way to get it back in formation. Before he could speak, her voice had sternly said ‘Yes?’

Her eyes bore into his soul and hung him upside down. He managed to find his voice from the depth of his unknotting stomach. ‘The chairman called and asked to give you this document. He said something about you getting it signed and getting it back to me’. A sweat broke at his back. For once, he was grateful for the layers of clothing that he wore that hid this. Deep down, he wondered how she was able to do this to him with as much as do nothing. He cussed himself Silently for being this way around her. He handed the document over to her and she resumed what was interrupted, barely managing to say to him that she would notify him when it was ready.‎It was all a front, at least when she was around the office or him. Deep down, she cared way too much,why else would she go all this Length at a supposed get back?

As human as she was, she wouldn’t even secretly admit it to her inner self not even with a whisper. Getting back to her apartment after work that day, one she shared with her long time friend, Ngozi, she was glad it was void of her presence. She needed the void to air out her thoughts. If only to leave them scattered around the corners of the apartment for awhile to better get them in superb line up shape, aimed at her goal.